BRIAN HOWEY: Suffering continues for Indiana's Democratic Party

INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana Democrats might as well envision themselves on a London rooftop circa September 1940 during what we know as "The Blitz."

But instead of dodging Stuka dive bombers, Hoosier Democrats have endured a wrecking crew by Gov. Mitch Daniels' Republicans. And today, with President Obama's Indiana approval rating below 40 percent, they face the prospect of popular Republicand Mike Pence becoming the next governor, and the strong possibility of a supermajority House joining the supermajority Indiana Senate.

With all eyes on former House speaker John Gregg to save the party in what could be their "finest hour," what the party ended up with last week was a Chinese fire drill.

Gregg wanted to install his own chairperson to head the Democratic Party. For the past seven years, it's been chaired by Dan Parker, a former aide to Gregg. It was then-Sen. Evan Bayh who installed Parker to mind the party store; presumed gubernatorial candidates seek this.

Parker has been at the mercy of two of the most powerful figures in Indiana politics: Bayh and Daniels. Both have thrown him through a number of hoops, whether it was Bayh's aborted presidential run, his veep flirtations with a.) Hillary Clinton and then b.) Barack Obama, while Daniels ended personal license plate money to the party, costing it $750,000 annually. On President's Day 2010, Bayh pulled the ultimate corkscrew, dropping his Senate re-election bid, leaving Parker to orchestrate a bizarre game of musical chairs with Brad Ellsworth replacing Bayh, Trent Van Haaften replacing Ellsworth, Bob Dieg for Van Haaften

It turned out to be a disaster. All lost.

Gregg became the indispensable man, a charming Southern Indiana politician capable of issuing a stem-winder to rally the base. And he came to the conclusion he wanted what Bayh had: his own guy minding the shop — Tim Jeffers. On Dec. 12, Parker resigned and on Dec. 16, his office was cleaned out. Parker would land at Jim Schellinger's CSO Architects, where Jeffers worked. It was a swap.

But the Jeffers pick stalled, as party elders like 8th CD Chair Tony Long decided they no longer wanted to take orders. Jeffers dropped out, leaving Parker's legal counsel, Sarah Riordan, and Joel Miller, an Indianapolis operative, fighting for the chair.

With the Bayh/Parker/Riordan forces facing a defeat, Parker pulled out Robert's Rules of Order, withdrew his resignation and relied on an executive committee procedural maneuver to stay in power.

Even with the larger executive group stacked in Parker's favor, the critical vote to allow him to stay on was 15 to 13½, hardly a resounding vote of confidence. Sources say National Committee member Dean Boerste, Long and recently resigned 2nd CD Chair Butch Morgan all supported withdrawing Parker's resignation.

What stunned observers is that Gregg showed up to support Parker's case. One longtime party observer wondered aloud about Gregg's judgment in "pulling back" from having Parker ousted. A source at the meeting noted, "There were still enough votes to deny Parker's request until John Gregg got up. I don't know who John thought he was helping. Once you insist the chairman step down, you don't then back down and leave your friends sitting buck naked out on Main Street."

Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr. and Marion County Chair Ed Treacy were furious. Parker explained, "John came to the meeting and asked for the committee members to accept my decision."

An Indianapolis Democrat observed: "Give the devil his due. Parker is like Rasputin. You poison him. You shoot him. You think he's dead and somehow he lives again. The problem is that our party has suffered under his leadership and we desperately needed a change to position us for 2012. I just wish Dan would be as effective fighting the Republicans as he is fighting to save his own job."

"This has been the strangest two weeks of my life," Parker told me. "I was fully prepared to hand it over Saturday." But at a fundraiser Friday night, Parker had Democrats telling him the time was "too delicate" for a new leader.

As former Chair Joe Andrew would put it, the "Huns are at the gates" and at a time when Gregg needed to be Winston Churchill, he looked like Neville Chamberlain.

The episode left both diminished at a time when candidate and party absolutely have to be at the top of their game.